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Mass Grave of Murdered Individuals in Cancuen |
A millennium has passed, yet the bloody massacre during the Maya civilization still evokes a chilling sensation: a king and queen of the Cancuen dynasty, over 30 nobles, and pregnant women were simultaneously attacked and brutally killed by axes and spears.
Deep within the dense Peten jungle of Guatemala, the ruins of a royal palace have revealed human skeletons and the horrific final marks of the Cancuen people as they were plundered.
“The king and queen, along with the nobles, were clearly gathered in a wide pit and stabbed to death by spears and axes aimed at their heads or necks,” said Arthur Demarest, the archaeologist leading the excavation team.
“In the years leading up to that execution, war had spread across the western Maya world. It seems to have unexpectedly reached Cancuen around 800 AD,” Demarest added.
The skeletons of the king, queen, along with the remains of 32 Maya nobles and over a dozen other skeletons were found in a mass grave covering 90 square meters located north of the palace. The archaeological team noted that this massacre marks a significant turning point that initiated the mysterious collapse of the Maya civilization.
The discovery of unfinished walls, scattered spearheads, the abandoned palace area, and human skeletons bearing wounds from axes and spears indicates that the entire kingdom was ruthlessly attacked and slaughtered.
The kingdom of Cancuen was one of the wealthiest capitals of the Maya, thanks to its strategic location at the head of the Pasion River – an important trade route. The area served as a gateway connecting the Maya civilization (which included the jungles of Mexico and northern Guatemala) to the volcanic highlands and southern coastline.
It once thrived as a residential area. The palace and surrounding regions spanned an area nearly equivalent to six football fields and were adorned with hundreds of sculpted statues. However, the Cancuen people could not withstand the merciless invaders, who showed no compassion for children or women. “The skeletons indicate that men, women, and children of all ages were killed,” Demarest stated.
Archaeologists also discovered fetuses preserved in the bodies of two women still intact beneath the mud.
M.T.
